Sheet opening machine



my 17, 1938. N, H GHES 2,117,665

SHEET OPENING MACHINE Filed Jan, 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR uy 1V. Hy qhes %/%%M ATTORNEY May 17, 1938. H QE 2,117,665

SHEET OPENING MACHINE Filed Jan. 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmm- I: 1

INVENTOR M fitM ATTORNEY Patented May 17, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

My invention relates to sheet opening machines and more particularly contemplates the provision of a machine for use in sheet steel rolling mills to separate sheets from each other after they have been reduced to their correct size in packs of two, four, six, or eight sheets.

In the rolling of steel sheets, it is customary to reduce the sheets from billets to their finished dimension in two operations. The first operation consists in reducing the billets to sheet form, in which the sheets are of considerably greater thickness than the finished product. The second operation consists in super-imposing several sheets upon each other to form a pack of considerable thickness, and then roll the pack until the sheets have been reduced to their finished dimension. After the pack has been thus rolled, the several sheets therein have a tendency to stick to each other. In the opening of some packs the sheets may be readily separated from each other, but at times the sheets become tightly attached'to each other and are known as stickers. It has heretofore been extremely difficult to open stickers without tearing or otherwise destroying the sheets and usually involved great labor and expense. While various types of machines have been devised for the purpose of separating stickers, it is well known to those skilled in this art that they have not, heretofore, proven satisfactory and that stickers are at the present time separated manually by means of laborers employing swords to cut (or wedge) the stickers apart.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a machine adapted to separate sheets of steel from each other more rapidly and at less expense than any other machine or method heretofore known to me.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a machine provided with a relatively stiff knife which is driven between the sheets to be separated by means of sharp blows imparted to the back edge thereof.

Briefly my invention comprises a knife horizontally mounted on a frame for backward and forward movement. The forward edge of the knife is sharpened for insertion between sheets in a pack. The pack is moved toward the knife by means of a pair of delivery rolls provided in front of the knife, and the separated sheets are removed from the machine by means of a pair of exit rolls. As the knife acts through the pack to separate the sheets, it is normally held in its forward position by tension springs but is adapted to move rearwardly and into a contact with rotary hammers when the sheets are tightly engaged to each other, thereby causing the back edge of the knife to be struck short, hard blows to separate the sheets. Suitable means are provided for varying the intensity of the hammer 5 blows imparted to the back edge of the knife.

A machine embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved sheet 10 opening machine;

Fig. 2 is a side View of same;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modified form of my invention in which, electric hammers are provided to impart sharp blows against the back edge of the knife; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of my machine in separate sheets from each other.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention, I show my machine comprising a frame 1, which may be of any suitable construction. A pair of delivery rolls 8 and 9 are journaled in the front of the machine and a pair of exit rolls II and !2 are journaled in the back of the machine. The upper rolls 8 and II are provided with bearings l3 and I4, respectively, which are mounted for vertical movement in slots l6 formed in the frame of the machine. Compression springs I! are provided to yieldably resist an upward movement of the upper rolls 8 and H, and the tension thereof may readily be adjusted by means of adjusting screws l8.

Mounted on the frame 1 between the delivery rolls and the exit rolls I provide a knife H) which is formed of relatively thick steel adapted to resist flexing or bending and which is sharpened along its forward edge at 20. Guide pins 2| are provided oh the frame of the machine and project upwardly and through slots 22 formed in the ends of the knife. Springs 23, having their one ends secured to the frame of the machine and their other ends secured to the knife, are provided to yieldably resist a rearward movement of the knife.

Mounted for horizontal rotation adjacent the rear edge of the knife, and at each end thereof, I provide a hammer 3| which comprises a center piece 32 secured to a shaft 33, and hammer segments 34 pivotally connected at 36 to the center piece. The hammer shafts 33 are journaled in bearings 35 and carry, secured to their lower ends, bevel gears 31 for engagement with gears 38 driven by a motor 39. The lower exit roll is driven by a motor 42 through a driving gear 43, driving chain 44, and driven gear 46; and the lower exit roll I2, in turn, drives the lower delivery roller 9 by means of a driving sprocket 41, chain 48 and driven sprocket 49.

The knife is slotted at to receive stop fingers 52 which are pivotally mounted on the frame of the machine at 53. An adjustment cam 54 is journaled on the frame of the machine for engagement with each stop finger. These cams are adapted to be rotated by means of handles 55 to change the position of the stop fingers and to thereby vary the intensity of the blows imparted to the back edge of the knife by the hammers 3|. It will also be observed, by referring to Fig. 1 in the drawings, that the knife I9 is disposed at an angle with respect to the rolls in order that the sheets may be separated by a shearing action which has been found to expedite the operation.

Referring now to Fig. 3 in the drawings, I show a modified form of my invention in which electric hammers 6| are employed to impart blows to the back edge of the knife 62. When stickers are passed through the machine they overcome the resistance of the springs 63 which hold the knife in its forward position and cause it to move rearwardly thereby closing the switch 66 to energize the hammers.

In the separation of sheets by means of my improved apparatus, the pack 6 is moved towards the knife l9 by means of the delivery rolls 8 and 9. One corner of the forward edge of the pack is then opened by hand to permit entrance of the knife after which, the opened ends of the sheets are engaged and drawn together by means of a pair of tongs and manually drawn towards the exit rolls H and i2 for engagement therebetween. The delivery and exit rolls are operated at the same peripheral speed which may readily be varied to suit conditions.

During the separating operation the knife is normally held in its forward position by the tension springs 23; but, whenever the sheets are tightly stuck together, the knife is forced rearwardly against the stop fingers 52 and into position to receive sharp blows fro-m the hammers. The intensity of the blows imparted to the back edge of the knife may be readily varied by turning the adjusting earns 54. The springs 23 are of sufficient strength to resist a rearward movement of the knife in the opening of most packs in which event, the rotating hammers do not strike the knife.

It is obvious to those skilled in this art that other means than those shown may be employed to strike the back edge of the knife and that my invention is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire therefore that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art.

I claim:

1. A sheet separator machine for opening a moving sheet pack including a reciprocable sheet separator movable in one direction by stuck sheets, and separate means uncoupled with respect to the separator for moving said separator in the opposite direction only when the separator is moved by stuck sheets into position to be acted upon by said separate means.

2. A sheet separator machine for opening a moving sheet pack including a reciprocable sheet separator movable in the direction of movement of the sheets by engagement with stuck sheets, and a separate means uncoupled with respect to the separator for driving said separator into the stuck sheets in a direction opposite to the movement thereof when said separator is moved into operative relation with said separate driving means.

3. A sheet separating machine for opening a moving sheet pack including a sheet separator movable with the sheets only upon engagement with stuck sheets, and means to impart sharp hammering blows upon the separator to drive the same in a direction opposite to the movement of said sheets only when the same moves the separator in contact therewith.

4. In a sheet opening machine for opening a moving sheet pack, a slidable knife normally biased opposite the direction of movement of the sheets, and means to impart sharp hammer- Ing blows to the back of the knife when stuck sheets overcome the normal bias of the knife and move the same rearwardly.

5. In a sheet opening machine for opening a moving sheet pack, a slidable knife normally biased opposite the direction of movement of the sheets, means to impart sharp hammering blows to the back of the knife when stuck sheets overcome the normal bias of the knife and move the same rearwardly, and means for regulating the intensity of the blows imparted to the back of the knife.

6. In a sheet opening machine, a frame, a separator knife having a limited sliding movement thereon, and means for imparting sharp hammering blows upon the rear edge of said knife normally spaced therefrom and engageable therewith only when the knife is moved rearwardly.

7. In a sheet opening machine, a frame, a separator knife having a limited sliding movement thereon, resilient means to normally hold the knife in forward position, means for feeding a pack of sheets past said knife to open the same, and means for imparting sharp hammering blows upon the rear edge of said knife when stuck sheets overcome the tension of the resilient means and move the knife rearwardly.

8. A sheet separating machine for opening a moving sheet pack including a sheet separator movable with the sheets only upon engagement with stuck sheets, and means to drive the separator in a direction opposite to the movement of the sheets only upon sheet conveying movement of the separator into a position of operative relationship with said driving means.

GUY N. HUGHES. 

